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Lenz's law expresses the minus sign in Faraday's law of induction: the induced electromotive force drives a passive resistive loop's electric current in the direction whose own magnetic field opposes the imposed change in magnetic flux. It opposes the change of flux, not invariably the external magnetic field. Choose an oriented surface and its positive boundary direction first, find the sign of $d{\Phi }_{\mathrm{ext}}/dt$, and then use the right-hand rule to translate the signed electric current into a physical direction. ^[ref].

In the fixed-loop example in Faraday's law of induction, out-of-page magnetic flux increases at $0.0060Wb/s$. With counterclockwise positive, $I=-0.0030\mathrm{A}$ is clockwise, producing an in-page magnetic field through the loop. Reverse the ramp to $B(t)=0.40\mathrm{T}-(0.30T/s)t$ on the same one-second interval: now $\mathcal{E}=+0.0060\mathrm{V}$ and $I=+0.0030\mathrm{A}$. The counterclockwise electric current produces an out-of-page magnetic field, supporting the decreasing external magnetic flux. A steady out-of-page magnetic field with fixed loop geometry gives no induced electromotive force in either direction.

For the increasing-area example in motional electromotive force, clockwise electric current runs down the right-hand rod. Its magnetic force on a current-carrying wire points left, opposing the imposed motion to the right. Writing $I_{\mathrm{mag}}=B\ell v/R$ for the current magnitude, the power required to maintain constant speed isThus the sign agrees with conservation of energy: the external drive supplies the Joule heating. The magnetic forces do no work on individual charges; mechanical work by the drive supplies the electrical energy. This also explains the usefulness of electromagnetic braking of a sliding rod and the terminal speed of a falling conducting loop. ^[ref].

The sign of induced electromotive force alone does not determine an arbitrary circuit's instantaneous electric current. Retaining constant self-inductance $L$ gives $LdI/dt+RI=-d{\Phi }_{\mathrm{ext}}/dt$, so a pre-existing electric current can persist while the induced drive opposes its change. The distinction matters in the lossless limit of magnetic loop braking. The resistive toy examples use $L=0$ as an approximation, not a general consequence of Lenz's law.

For a moving circuit, Faraday's law states that the electromotive forceequals $-d{\Phi }_B/dt$, where ${\Phi }_B={\int }_S\mathbf{B}\cdot d\mathbf{S}$ is the magnetic flux through any spanning surface. Choose the upward normal. The horizontal square hasso Ohm's law gives the induced currentwith positive current taken counterclockwise from above.

On the edge $x=a$, $d\mathbf{\ell }=dy{\mathbf{e}}_y$. The magnetic force on a current-carrying wire is $d\mathbf{F}=I,d\mathbf{\ell }\times \mathbf{B}$, henceThe ratio of the horizontal to vertical magnitudes is $2|z|/a$, so the directed force makes angle ${\tan }^{-1}(2z/a)$ with the vertical, with the sign fixing the horizontal side.

The horizontal forces on opposite edges cancel, while all four vertical contributions add:This is an electromagnetic drag force opposing the motion, as required by Lenz's law. Including gravity givesAt the terminal velocity, $\ddot{z}=0$, and the constant downward speed has magnitude